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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

What we learned at the zoo today

From far away, a baby elephant looks "almost as big as me!" to a 3-year-old.

Marty and Melman live at this zoo. But Alex does not, and Gloria was in the water sweeping (no, not sleeping; Ellie's positive Gloria was just tidying the pond up a bit and that's why she couldn't pop up to say hello.)

Giraffes don't poop much, but elephants sure do.

You can tell a girl bat from a boy bat. But you can't tell which one is the girl and which one is the boy. They're a little indeterminate, but definitely different. Thanks, Vicki, for pointing this out.

Goats will eat hay right out of your hand. This tickles.

Now we know why they're called naked mole rats. To echo Lexi's sentiments on this matter: Ew.

The animals actually do play with the toys in their cages/pens/habitats. Polar bears like big plastic barrels.

One $4 elephant ear will divide four ways quite nicely. That's still a dollar a person, but I try not to think about it.

Bobcats are scary kitties.

You can tell what a bear has eaten by looking at its poop. This makes little girls giggle uncontrollably (probably little boys too, but I have no experience with that.)

Stay to the right means stay to the right.

We do not go inside the gift shop. It doesn't matter how many times you ask.

Orangutans have cool playground equipment.

It's okay to skip the sea lions because "we see them every single time!"

Penguins never cease to make me smile.

The 3-year-old will be the last one ready to go home. The mom will be the first.

If you're going to the Oregon Zoo over Spring Break, pick a yucky weather day, because most people stay home.

I like "Bobcats are scary kitties," and "We do not go inside the gift shop." Sounds like you had fun! I need to get my kids to the zoo over spring break. It is two weeks away, so I'll start mentally gearing up for it now.

Elephant ears are great! You can make a cheaper version of them using refrigerated dough biscuits. You just flatten them, deep fry them, dry them on paper towels and sprinkle Cinnamon & Sugar on them. There is also a Mexican recipe that you make from scratch called "bunuelos."